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Latvia’s capital city Riga constantly features in various ‘cheapest cities to visit in Europe’ lists so we thought we’d check it out for ourselves. We spent 48 hours in Riga eating and drinking our way around restaurants in the ancient town (with a little sightseeing thrown in for good measure) and managed to spend less than 60 Euros each for the whole weekend, eating out for every meal and indulging in an abundance of beer. Here are our top five cheap eats in Riga:
Table of Contents
XL Pelmeņi
We feature this cheap restaurant at the start purely because it was our first foray into Riga – we arrived late from London on a Friday night and after checking into our hotel at 10pm, we made the short walk to XL Pelmeni, seemingly a regular haunt of the locals. Best described as a dumpling buffet, we waited to follow some locals in so we could see how to pick our food.
After picking up a tray, you can help yourself to all manner of soups and moist Russian dumplings with lots of toppings to chose from, such as pickles, dill, sour cream and croutons. The dumpling fillings are either chicken, lamb, smoked pork (our favourite) or vegetarian, and the fried dumplings are filled with cheese. At the end, your dishes are weighed and priced accordingly, plus you can also order large steins of tap beer or a shot of Moskovskaya vodka.
Food for two of us (several plates) as well as beer steins cost around 10 Euros. Cheap as! We visited here a couple of times during our stay as whilst not haute cuisine, it was hearty warming fare. XL Pelmeņi is open everyday from 9am-11pm (Friday and Saturday nights until 4am).
Address: Kaļķu iela 7, Centra rajons, Rīga
Lido
A Latvian chain restaurant (not an outdoor pool!) is one of the most popular cheap eats in Riga. We visited both the old town branch of Lido as well as the one at Riga airport (you can find it on the upper level of departures, before you go through customs).
Similar to XL Pelmeņi, this is a buffet concept comprising of local food which you then have weighed at the end, to determine what you pay.
This is also the perfect opportunity to try local specialities at very low cost – we sampled the famous grey peas, cabbage and beef mince roll and dressed herring – a Russian layered salad made up of diced pickled herring and layers of grated boiled vegetables, chopped onions, and mayonnaise (definitely tastier than it sounds!)
We visited the Lido on a couple of occasions and we’d advise to pick your times carefully as it is not only popular with locals, we saw lots of tour groups use it too.
We would recommend heading there after the lunch rush from about 3pm onwards. To help wash down all this fine fare, there is also a olde world style bar serving very cheap beer (around 2 to 3 Euros for a large stein like glass).
Address: Tirgoņu iela 6, Centra rajons, Rīga
Folkklubs ALA Pagrabs
We went to several bars and restaurants during our time in Riga but this cavernous inn was our highlight, so much so that we went back every day. We are happy to report beer prices are cheaper than most old town bars (e.g. 5 Euros for two large dark beers – our favourite!) and the interiors are very atmospheric.
With live music most nights, Folkklubs is always heaving (although each time we visited we eventually managed to get a table – just have patience and pick your moment carefully).
As it was so busy in the evenings, we decided to also pop by one afternoon for some late lunch and try their famous beer platter, which comprised of dark garlic bread, cheese, cured meats and pickled vegetables and sauces (a massive portion for just 5 Euros). The garlic rye bread was amazing and we still dream about it to this day. They also serve a large menu of affordable and hearty traditional Latvian meals.
Address: Peldu iela 19, Centra rajons, Rīga
Riga Central Market
Supposedly Europe’s largest food market and one of the best looking markets we’ve ever been to, Riga Central Market is just a short walk from the old town, with lots of tasty and cheap eats.
From micro breweries to bountiful bakeries, our tastebuds salivated at every step – there are five huge halls (originally built to house wartime zeppelins) with one entire hall dedicated to street food and pop-up food stalls, and others concentrating on fresh foods to buy and take home.
Be careful when taking photos though as we encountered the wrath of a lady on a fish stall who didn’t take kindly to us taking pictures of her dried fish!
Address: Nēģu iela 7, Latgales priekšpilsēta, Rīga
Rigensis
A rustic cafe/ bakery with warm, sugary bakery smells to entice you in off the street (the pigeons also seem to rather like it as well). As you enter, a display of delicious cakes, patisseries and sweet and savory treats await – they all look so good that it can be hard to decide.
We opted for a lemon meringue cake, almond biscuit and coffees and chose to sit in – the whole experience cost less than 5 Euros for the two of us. Although a tad touristy, the desserts were delicious and this is a nice way to take a much needed break after walking all over the city all day.
Address: Latvia, Tirgoņu iela 8, Rīga
We think we Riga-oursly tested all the best cheap eats in the old town – but if you think we’ve missed a tasty trick, please do let us know in the comments as we intend to visit Riga’s capital again very soon.
Click here to read our top things to do in Riga blog post
Other Europe posts you might like
- Things to do in Kiev, Ukraine
- Things to do in Córdoba, Spain
- Things to do in Seville, Spain
- things to do in Lisbon, Portugal
- Things to do in Budapest, Hungary
- Things to do in Vienna, Austria
- Things to do in Sofia, Bulgaria
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